Dave Renz Fascination

Dave Renz

Dave Renz has always been fascinated by sounds. As a child, this involved tinkering around on electric keyboards, singing, and trying to imitate noises he heard: An old fashioned car horn from a TV show, people’s voices, a B1 bomber (when he played trombone for a few weeks).

As he became serious about saxophone and improvisation, his interest in sounds continued and his interest in composition was born. Many of his first compositions were exercises to explore harmonic ideas. Soon those exercises became expressions, and his writing continues to exist on a spectrum between exploratory exercise and self-expression.

Dave Renz has an inclination towards any improvised music. He is equally comfortable on alto, tenor, or soprano sax. His playing experience has been diverse, performing jazz, blues, rock, folk, and world music, and his writing and original approach to the instrument reflects this diverse background.

The word amateur comes from the Latin “amator”, meaning lover. In this regard, Dave Renz is an amateur musician. He continues to focus on playing music he loves with like-minded musicians. His amateur approach has led to professional opportunities in a wide range of styles with artists who do not view themselves as genre bound. It has opened doors to venues, festivals, and cities where creative music is embraced.

Dave Renz met Walter Runge by playing music he loved. Together they explored world jazz, written by Renz, blues, backing the legendary Frank Bey, and began to collaborate, exploring the possibilities of music performed by 2 human artists and live generated computer backing tracks. Both contributed to this unique collaboration, and it evolved over time into Runge’s Counterparts project.

Renz is inspired by Runge’s compositions and the spirit of the band. They lean on one another as not only musicians, but also as composers and producers working on the fly and bringing life to Walter’s creative ideas. Playing with Counterparts is challenging, rewarding and stimulating. It’s a joy to be with a collection of unique and talented musicians who as a whole, are greater than the sum of their parts.

When Dave Renz is not performing with Counterparts, he stays busy learning from other musicians and exploring photography.